I’m really getting lucky with this weather and today dawned
just as bright and sunny as the last several.
After breakfast and dishes I pulled the anchor and headed up Mussel
Inlet, one of the fjords that comprises Fiordland Recreation Area.
The scenery was spectacular.
Big mountains, waterfalls, glassy water, calm winds, and clear
skies. I couldn’t have asked for
more. On the way in I had seen a cabin along
the shore with a mooring buoy. Since
anchorages are nonexistent in Mussel Inlet, I figured I’d take a look at the
mooring buoy on the way back down.
When I got to the head of the inlet I shut off the engine
and drifted for half an hour or so, soaking up the sun and reading
outside. Unfortunately the bugs found
me, so I retreated back inside and headed for the cabin. The mooring buoy didn’t have any markings on
it and it seemed close to shore and not particularly robust. But the weather conditions were calm and I
gave the boat quite a bit of power to test the buoys strength and all seemed
well. So I tied up and explored by
kayak.
 |
| Nice view from the cabin |
I have no idea who owns the cabin. There were no markings and no ‘no
trespassing’ signs and it was unlocked.
Inside there were handwritten notes about how to use different features. It’s a lot nicer than the USFS cabins in
Alaska since it had running water, an actual toilet, a full size range, and
solar panels with a battery bank and inverters.
After exploring I returned to the boat, read and took a
nap. When I woke up the wind had
freshened and the lack of shelter at the buoy was obvious. Still, I figured the wind would die in the
evening and I’d have a comfortable night.
Although it took a while, the seas calmed down around
10pm. Some clouds had moved in in the
evening and the sunset was spectacular, but given the increased cloud cover I
don’t know if the awesome weather will last.
13.2 nm today and 2,681.1 total
thanks for sharing.
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